


Along the Road and the Way Things Are

by saiyuri_dahlia



Category: Digimon Adventure Zero Two | Digimon Adventure 02
Genre: Adult Ken and Miyako, F/M, Post-Series, Slice of Ken's Life
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-02-11
Updated: 2014-02-11
Packaged: 2018-01-11 22:54:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,024
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1178939
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/saiyuri_dahlia/pseuds/saiyuri_dahlia
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A slightly irregular morning in the life of an adult Ken and his thoughts and feelings on his life, his kids, and his perfect girl.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Along the Road and the Way Things Are

**Author's Note:**

> Author's Notes: The phrase "100% perfect girl" comes from a personal favorite short story by Haruki Murakami. The kids' names originated from an unposted fic I had to drop and, well, I simply grew accustomed to calling them by those names. I would've preferably left them unnamed but for my sanity, I had to. Thanks for reading.

Story Title: Along the Road and the Way Things Are

Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon 02.

-o-

Story Title: Along the Road and the Way Things Are

-o-

Ken knows he's found his 100% perfect girl.

…Even on a morning like this.

"Ken! Wake up!" his wife shouts and shakes his shoulders. Ken does not respond and for all intents and purposes, he continues on softly snoozing and dreaming in her tensing arms.

Her attempts to rouse him are admirable and by most accounts are worthy of a medal of honor, but are not enough. Ken lives with true peace of mind and neutralized the poisonous effects of the dark spore and its nightmares years ago, and now only a world in crisis can snap him awake and alert in the morning. Saving two worlds from complete end as a child tends to make the normal day-to-day stresses pale in comparison, though that never stopped Miyako from worrying over the littlest things.

Ken lies in bed with his eyes closed, partially awake and partially aware of his surroundings, but if he can fool Miyako, he wants to doze for a few more minutes. Miyako has their children to wake, so Ken figures she will excuse herself from the room soon enough, giving Ken five more minutes to rest.

Ken's understanding proves right. Miyako groans an airy growl and leaves their bedroom. The war is not over. Miyako is simply regrouping herself, restrategizing, and calling for their little reinforcements to be at the ready to pounce on the bed to wake up their papa if need be. And Ken knows this well and welcomes the raucous wakeup. Any extra time he can have with his children is precious in of itself.

Hearing indistinctly what Ken thinks is his daughter's voice asking for him, he half-opens his eyes and a groan posed as a question slips out of his mouth. He hears Miyako voice his name down the hall and then hears his children's names and a march of steps clomping up the hall and past his and Miyako's bedroom. He hears these sounds well enough, yes, but they don't quite register.

Miyako pokes her head in their doorway. "Ken, get UP!" she orders with a strong air of finality in her voice.

Ken figures he should probably get up.

Ken sits up and swings his legs over the side of the bed. He looks over and sees the digital clock flickering 4:46 AM over and over. Ken knows the time couldn't be right, but he is not alarmed by the time and does not think too heavily on the matter.

He gets up and goes through his habitual motions of any given weekday morning. He makes it down the hall to the bathroom and washes his face, combs his hair, and brushes his teeth all the while yawning through it all. Just as he is spitting out his rinse, Miyako appears and pulls him by the wrist out of the bathroom and drags him back to their bedroom.

"Wha? What's wrong?" Ken asks, very much clueless and still very much unawake.

His wife doesn't answer him. She opens their closet and stands with her hands on her hips looking at their clothes with a sharp, selective eye. By their bed, Ken stands watching Miyako and waits, unsure of why she's treating this morning so different when it seems to him no special than any other. He calmly ponders why all the haste and then he realizes he has a bit of toothpaste foam on his mouth. Ken secretly wipes it off on the underside of his nightshirt.

They're both still in their pajamas, Ken notices. That and Miyako hasn't combed her hair yet. Her light purple locks are kinked from how she laid on them last night. The kinks remind Ken of the night she attempted to curl her hair. Those soft waves may not have been to her liking, but Ken had thought she looked beautiful. Miyako always has a way of standing out, of turning what others called her 'simple' beauty into something extraordinary in Ken's eyes. Anyone who'd dare call Miyako a simple beauty obviously did not know her well. Nothing about her is ever simple but she is a beauty.

Her voice calling his name draws him out of his admiring reverie. Miyako reaches into their closet and sends a pair of Ken's gray work slacks flying over her head. Caught off guard, Ken does his best impression of a goalie and manages to catch them mid-air. His daughter and his first son cheer and laugh from the doorway. Ken manages to awkwardly say good morning over his shoulder to his children as he scrambles and totters about to catch the flying coat to his gray suit, white dress shirt, a white undershirt, and the police force-standard black tie.

Weaving his steps backwards, Ken drops his police uniform on the bed. His son and daughter, thinking it was all a show, giggle and applaud. Seeing his children so happy, Ken smiles in return.

Like much of his time with his children, his interaction is forced to be brief. Miyako herds them away and instructs them to get ready for school. She returns to their bedroom, closing the door behind her, and tells Ken to start getting dressed too as she selects her clothes for the day.

"What's the rush, Miyako?" Ken asks innocently while fumbling with the noncompliant buttons on his nightshirt.

" _What's the rush?_ " she repeats and freezes mid-pulling off her pajama top, exposing the bottom curvature of her breasts, and stares flatly at him in disbelief. She seems surprised and irritated that she even has to explain anything to him.

Her stare makes Ken's ears turn pink and warm. He knows he's missing out on something important and very obvious, but just cannot figure out what would stress Miyako so thoroughly this morning. It is the definition of irony for Detective Ichijouji, who could solve multiple difficult cases and have the perpetrators arrested in a matter of days—his perfect capture rate aided immensely by having Stingmon as his partner—but the brilliant detective could not figure out why his wife is staring at him sharply and clearly wondering where her smart husband ran off to.

" _Ken_ …" she says his name in a frustrated sigh. "You're twenty minutes late for work. I've got to get Kiyoko and Masato ready before they miss the bus. Little Hisoka has a doctor's appointment. Come on, Ken, we don't have time! Hurry! _Hurry_!"

"But…the alarm didn't go off…" Ken points out, his voice anything but intelligent.

"Power outage," Miyako explains, reducing her responses to the bare minimum in an effort to conserve time for them. "No more questions. Dress!"

And Ken does, once he wins the war with the buttons on his nightshirt. It's a new nightshirt and the buttons are a little rigid to manage and Ken is trying to hurry, which explains his unusual incompetence in basic motor skills this morning. He has Miyako to thank for freeing the bottom three and even she struggled for a second or two.

Ken has his gray slacks on and buckles his belt and sees Miyako pick up her blouse for the day and start to put it on. Ken steps closer to her and waits until she has the burgundy top with a frilly neckline on and is too distracted plucking the blouse so that it lays a bit less clingy to her body. She stands with her back to him and her head tilted down, her attention solely on her top and how it rests on her and not at all on her husband. Ken reaches forward and gathers her long hair in his hands. Miyako looks up in surprise, more so as his fingertips brush reverently against her neck and jawline.

He draws her hair from her blouse for her and rests it against her back. He runs his hands through her hair and finds that every knot and snag slips effortlessly free for him. Ken wishes they had more time. He wishes he could set her down on their bed and run his hands more through her hair. He wishes he could subtly glide his hands from her hair to her neck and shoulders and massage the knots of stress out from under her skin. He wishes he could then kiss her shoulders, her neck, her breasts… He wishes he could give all of her his devotion.

But, as there never seems to be, Ken does not have time. Miyako is right. His duty to his work calls. He must focus on getting ready.

Ken wishes his occupation did not compel him to be gone most of the time and did not leave him so exhausted. He wishes he had more time with his children and time with his 100% perfect girl and that he could show his family more affection and attention than he does. He wishes he could enjoy his children more and see the fruits of his labor rather than noticing things haphazardly through tired eyes.

Ken lets Miyako's hair lay still. Miyako turns and stares at him over her shoulder. He knows and can see it in her eyes, filled painfully with emotion, that she knows his shows of tenderness are less frequent nowadays and more whenever he can give but, like with his children, every little moment he gets he gives all that he has.

Miyako circles around and hugs Ken. She settles into his enveloping arms and presses her cheek against his undershirt and soaks up his warmth and love and listens to the pulse of his heart. Miyako stays in Ken's arms, not for long because there is much she needs to do and certainly not long enough as Ken wishes he could hold her but long enough as they can both give to each other.

Reluctantly, Miyako begins the separation. "…We need to hurry," she softly says to him and as a reminder to herself and averts her eyes from being tempted into falling back into Ken's arms.

While Miyako brushes her hair, Ken puts on a white dress shirt. Both pause at the shrill call of the smoke detector whining through the apartment. Miyako is the first to react and Ken follows behind, mid-buttoning. Miyako tells him to finish getting ready and that she'll handle things. Ken can trust her and know that she will take care of everything—to him, Miyako is the rock of their family (she says Ken is)—but Ken would never let everything fall on her shoulders and follows behind her anyway.

The kitchen is smoky and filled with arguing voices. Ken sees Hawkmon spray the fire extinguisher over the stove and oddly the first thought he has on the scene is how can a bird creature use feathers like hands. And then he wonders what is going on.

The kids claim they were helping. They claim they were making breakfast. They claim that Hawkmon and Wormmon were supervising them. The digimon deny this and protest that they tried to stop them but the kids convinced them they could and knew what to do. Neither Ken's daughter nor his older son know how long to cook bacon but they know that when it's black and smoking, it means it's overdone and unpalatable. They also know when the color of mama's face matches Hawkmon's feathers that she is very upset.

"...Of _all_ the mornings—" Miyako lectures. "You could have burned yourselves, set the kitchen on fire—"

Miyako is harsh and goes on and on. Ken's children stand and stare at the floor. Kiyoko, who is Miyako made over in personality and appearance but with Ken's violet-blue hair, hides a small snickering guilty smirk and pretends to listen. She is the mastermind of the breakfast fiasco and deserves the brunt of Miyako's scolding. Kiyoko is brazen, boisterous, and strong-willed and does not heed her mother's warnings well.

Masato, on the other hand, shares Ken's temperament. He is sensitive and gentle and very vulnerable to Kiyoko's persuasion, and is often looped and duped into her schemes just so she has someone to share the blame and the lecture. And, like they always do, Miyako's scolding cuts right through him. His head droops low in shame and his short light purple hair, the same color as Miyako's, just barely curtains his eyes. He does not brush or bounce off anger like Kiyoko or Miyako would—he internalizes it and the cuts re-cut themselves. Even when Miyako scolds Kiyoko alone, Masato reacts to her yelling as if it is directed at him. Ken wonders if Miyako ever notices this. He guesses not because she goes on and remains abrasive and Masato cringes and withdraws. Ken makes a note to talk to Miyako immediately about this.

Very few things can stop Miyako when she is on a tirade—Ken has learned it's usually best to let Miyako express herself all she wants, let her get out her all feelings and calm before responding—but one of those things that can derail her at once remains the baby's crying. Miyako hastily completes her lecture and rushes off with Hawkmon behind her to Hisoka's bedroom. With Miyako absent, Ken decides he should make some things known and clear for his older children, especially for Masato.

At first, Ken's children think he has some stern words for them as well but change their minds and brighten their expressions as Ken crouches down to their level. He asks first softly if they are all right.

"We're okay, papa," Kiyoko says, speaking for herself and Masato like usual. "See?" Kiyoko, and then a moment later Masato, outstretch their arms and show Ken their lack of burns and hurts.

"That's good." Ken smiles and ruffles Masato's hair and even after keeps his hand on the top of his head. "You had your mother and I very worried. We were terrified that you were hurt."

"Mama didn't sound scared. She sounded like she always does," Kiyoko says wryly and Masato stares at the kitchen floor and bites on his bottom lip.

Ken does not wish to admit Kiyoko has a small point. But he also knows that Miyako only seems this way to her because until Ken comes home, Miyako has to be the disciplinarian, and when she's in trouble, Kiyoko forgets all the nice, loving things her mother does for her all the time.

"I know this might be difficult for you two to understand," Ken says, calm and soft, "but adults often feel a lot of emotions at once but they'll only show one, especially in high stress situations."

"Sounds confusing," Kiyoko says, straightforward as always, just like her mother at her age.

"A little but it's the truth," Ken says as he smiles at Masato and wipes away the small tears in his eyes and pats his back reassuringly. "Your mother may have looked angry, but in truth, she was just very, very scared for you. We heard the smoke alarm and thought you were in danger so she and I came very quickly to make sure you were okay and get you to safety. We love you both very much and we would never want to see you hurt or, have mercy, die. But when there really wasn't any danger, your mother still had all this energy and emotion she was going to use to save you and it had to come out somehow. So you see, she isn't really angry. You just gave her quite a fright."

"Sorry, papa," Masato peers up and meets Ken's eyes and says quietly. "I'm sorry for scaring mama. Didn't mean to. I wanted to make things easier on her. Kiyoko said we would."

Ken gives Kiyoko a sidelong glance and watches as she puts on an angelic grin. Even though Kiyoko knew she wouldn't be allowed and tricked her brother into helping her and convinced Hawkmon and Wormmon to let her, Ken knows his daughter and can tell she really wanted to help out her mother. The heart was there, just not the know-how, peppered with a smattering of deception.

Ken checks back on his son. Now that Masato has been coaxed from his withdrawal, he looks much better and more secure now that he understands his mother is not angry with him and, despite her yelling, very much loves him still.

"I know you both meant well and your mother and I appreciate your good intentions but your mother is right. Never try to cook on your own. Not even with Hawkmon or Wormmon present. Understand?"

"Yes, papa," Kiyoko and Masato nod and reply in unison.

Ken opens his arms and his children gather into his hug. He holds them close and for as long as he can, which seems to be until he hears Miyako returning and he remembers that they are running late. He kisses Kiyoko and Masato each on the forehead and reluctantly parts from them. As he rises, he gets a smile from Wormmon, sitting on the kitchen countertop.

"Ken, here," Miyako says and lays their youngest son in his arms. The baby fusses as she makes the transfer but quiets once he is secure again. Miyako walks away and steps about the kitchen. She tries to not eye the stove and mumbles, "Breakfast, breakfast…" to herself.

Ken peers down at his baby son, who finds Ken's remaining unbuttoned buttons to be quite fascinating and plucks at them with his little hands that Miyako and Wormmon have both said are miniature versions of Ken's own.

Of all his children, Hisoka looks the most like him. Though he is still very young, he reminds Ken of himself. That knowledge fills Ken with pride and a shadow of fear. Ken sometimes worries Hisoka will parallel him more in just appearance and being the second-born son.

Ken knows what it is like to be the second son in a society where a belief remains that value and importance is placed on the first son. He knows what it is like to be overshadowed by his big brother. He knows the anger and frustration and the feeling of never being good enough, of being 'unspecial' and feeling unloved by his parents. But Ken has learned. The hard way, by most accounts, but he has learned. He has learned from his child self's misunderstandings and his parents' unintentional mistakes, and he knows and promises that Hisoka and Masato will go through none of that.

Much to his baby boy's displeasure, Ken gently frees a button out of Hisoka's grasp before he can pull it and a little bit of Ken's white dress shirt into his mouth. Hisoka pouts and fusses but Ken tickles him under the chin and Hisoka cannot resist and breaks out into gurgles and giggles. Ken smiles.

Ken's children will all be individually special and Ken will love them. They will all have and find their place and Ken will guide them to it with Miyako.

Miyako decides Kiyoko and Masato will have to make do with cereal for breakfast. Wanting to help and make up for earlier, Kiyoko gets the milk out and Masato gets the spoons. Hisoka has moved on from Ken's shirt buttons and now finds Ken's hand very interesting—one tiny hand grasps Ken's pinky, the other holds his thumb in place while Hisoka sucks lightly on Ken's knuckle. Ken flutters his free fingers and Hisoka's bright eyes watch their movements with eager interest.

"Okay…" Miyako sighs and pauses in the middle of the kitchen and thinks. "Kids, got your backpacks?"

"All ready," Kiyoko answers and so does Masato a second later.

Miyako breathes a little thankful sigh. "Hawkmon, could you get the lunches in the fridge?" She turns and looks at Ken. Her stare and voice are both even and a little annoyed. "Ken, why aren't you dressed?"

Ken raises Hisoka up a little and Miyako notices she has left the baby in his arms. Miyako's cheeks redden a little as she realizes her oversight. "Sorry about that," she says and reaches out to take Hisoka.

As soon as he is back in Miyako's arms, Hisoka cries and holds out his arms toward Ken. It is the first time he has ever done this so Miyako and Ken look at one another and awkwardly smile to each other as Miyako tries to console Hisoka.

"He's probably just hungry," Miyako says as Hisoka continues holding out his arms for Ken to take him.

"Nuh uh," Kiyoko says from the table. "He wants papa."

It is clear by the look on Miyako's face that she wishes their daughter hadn't blurted out what neither one of them wanted to say, but the truth remains that she had. And she is right. Ken cannot help but feel guilty. Out of all his children, he spends the least time with Hisoka. Not by choice. It is only because Hisoka is already put to bed by the time Ken comes home, though sometimes Ken gets to rock him to sleep. At least, Hisoka knows and loves Ken very much and Ken is very thankful for that.

"You should get ready," Miyako says as Hisoka at last starts to calm.

"Yea, I should," Ken repeats and reluctantly heads back to their bedroom to finish getting dressed. As he leaves, he is pleased to hear Hisoka cooing while Miyako murmurs sweetly to him.

Though he is often tired and at work, Ken does enjoy his job. He would not remain an officer if he didn't. He enjoys stopping crime and protecting his city, because it is an occupation that allows him to do good and atone for what he has done. While Ken no longer punishes himself, he still wishes to make up for his mistakes and live a life worthy of his second chance. Becoming a police officer seemed to be a good road to take to do just that.

But he does enjoy coming home to Miyako, his children, and their hugs and kisses more.

Ken slips into his longcoat as he walks back to the kitchen and overhears Miyako telling Masato to leave Minomon home.

"I wish they'd let us bring our partners to school," Kiyoko says and grins at her Poromon, now in her lap and asking if she is having any of that sugary marshmallow bit cereal.

"I wish too," Masato says. "Minomon's better at fractions."

"Much as you'd love it," Miyako says, as she bottle-feeds Hisoka, "most principals aren't keen on dinosaurs, giant insects, and fire-breathing, electricity-zapping what-you-wills roaming their halls."

"Why, Miyako, that never stopped you…" Hawkmon says dryly. "I remember being filed somewhere between your history and science book more than once."

Blushing, Miyako haughtily lifts her head up. "That was different. I had a world to save."

Hawkmon covers a wing over his beak to stifle his laughter while the kids look at Miyako and also laugh. And Kiyoko's Poromon wonders what's so funny and eats dry sugary cereal out of her partner's hand.

"Yes, and you had to do it all by yourself," Ken smiles and teases as he collects his lunch Hawkmon laid on the counter. "Wonderful job you did of it, honey. We're all grateful. Whatever would we have done without you."

"Hush you," Miyako says and bats at Ken, softly laughing and easily dodges her halfhearted swats. Though she tries to look annoyed, Miyako is also blushing and half-smiling and losing that battle. "Eat something," she orders through a partial laugh.

"I'll make do," Ken says, slipping an apple from the fruit bowl into a pocket. He asks Wormmon if he has ate and Wormmon nods yes. Ken holds out his arm and Wormmon crawls up to his place on Ken's shoulder.

"You heard me, Masato?" Miyako looks at him while she resumes feeding Hisoka. "Minomon stays home."

"Yes, mama. He's asleep on my bed with Leafmon, I promise," he says.

It is about time for Ken to leave. He runs through his mental list and cannot think of anything he needs to do and he has his lunch and briefcase in hand. Ken stands by Kiyoko and tells his older children he is leaving.

"Take care," Kiyoko says and Ken leans down for a kiss on the cheek. Kiyoko gives Wormmon a kiss too.

Ken hugs her and returns the kiss and whispers in her ear, "Be nice to your mother," and gives her another quick peck. He knows she will listen because Kiyoko is her papa's girl, and even if she doesn't listen to her mother all of the time, she always listens to Ken.

He gets another hug and kiss out of Masato, who tells him bye and that he loves him through a mouthful of cereal, and Ken whispers to him to watch over and play with his little brother. Masato tips his head a little to the side like a confused puppy for a second but agrees to Ken's request with a fast nod. Ken turns to Miyako.

Miyako is looking at the mounted clock. "Ah! They missed the bus…" she says.

"It's okay. I'll drop them off on my way," Ken says.

"Ken, you're late as it is."

Ken shrugs. "The Chief has kids too. He'll understand. Besides, for the work I put in, they could afford some leniency. …And if not, I'm bringing in donuts to apologize anyway."

Kiyoko and Masato look up expectantly. "Can we get a donut?" Kiyoko asks.

"Not without finishing your breakfast, you aren't," Miyako replied, her voice and stare both flattened.

The kids listen to their mother and at first are disappointed, but they look to Ken next and see in his expression and nod to Miyako that if they do as their mother says, that he will let them have a donut. So at once the kids' slow pace hit double time. They finish quickly, rush from their seats, and put their bowls into the sink. They hurry off to get their book bags and shoes on with Hawkmon carrying their forgotten lunches trailing behind them.

Ken leans down and kisses Hisoka on the top of his head. As he rises, Ken quickly pushes open Hisoka's hand before his baby boy has the chance to give his captured hair a good yank. As he is doing this, Miyako is petting Wormmon and murmuring not so quietly to him that he makes sure Ken eats. Being reminded to eat at work once in awhile doesn't bother Ken much—he knows his wife and partner just care about him very much and when he does get wrapped up doggedly pursuing a lead, he does forget things, like to eat. At least, there is always someone looking out for him.

"Keep him safe, okay?" Miyako says to Wormmon. And then to Ken, "Come home."

"I will," Ken replies and they kiss.

It is never for as long as they want, though it is not possible to have the rest of eternity anyway. They compromise by kissing as frequently as they can and giving all of their love, even their smallest pecks never appear to be without some fire.

Ken, very reluctantly, breaks the kiss. As he draws away from her, he does sneak back another quick press and convinces himself to make it the only. He holds her and, for a moment, admires her smiling, blushing face before he at last gives her a farewell nod and calls to Kiyoko and Masato as they come back to the kitchen. After the kids receive Miyako's hugs and kisses and well-wishes and Kiyoko's Poromon is removed from her backpack, much to Kiyoko's sheepish surprise, Ken leads the kids toward the car.

And, for a moment as he steps outside, a feeling of unreality hits Ken. It is an otherworldly feeling. It hits him like an ocean wave, its water black as a moonless night but warm and familiar and all too ready to welcome him back into its depths. But, as it will from time to time, it comes, breaks its grim surge, and goes, leaving only a damp impression in its wake, a shadow.

It is a lingering shadow, like a gloomy curl of dark smoke in his thoughts. The shadow Ken has come to accept. It is a part of him after all, albeit a part he doesn't like much and knows it will always be there though it has no power and never will again.

And besides, while unable to be caught, smoke can be easily be dispersed. Ken has found his wife and children provide a boundless source of ready remedies for such times.

He has made mistakes, yes, fallen and grazed his knees along the road but he has found his place. He thinks that some time during his deep sleep he wandered onto this new and final road but he only really remembers realizing his new path and where it would take him while on a date with his perfect girl—the date in which he realized that she was his perfect girl and saw that he would one day marry her and have a family. His perfect girl may be a woman now, but she still smiles like the same girl he met twenty-five years ago.

Kiyoko walks ahead of Ken. She bounces in her step as she animatedly chatters on and gushes over which donut she will have. Just like her mother. Masato walks at Ken's side, holding Ken's hand. Ken looks over and catches Masato staring up at him. His son realizes he has been spotted and cants his gaze down shyly, but Ken has already noticed the pride and admiration in his boy's eyes. He smiles and the thought of Hisoka growing up to be like Ken passes again into his consideration.

Aside from the experiences he wishes to never be repeated, Ken supposes Hisoka becoming like the man he is now would not be too bad after all.

No, he supposes. Not at all.


End file.
